Chapter 189: Zachery Tattles to Daddy

Chapter 189: Chapter 189: Zachery Tattles to Daddy

After saying this, Mrs. York thought the matter was settled. Surely Nathaniel wouldn’t deny her a graceful way out.

However, Nathaniel’s expression remained indifferent. "Outsiders say Estelle isn’t good enough for me? I am quite curious as to who you heard these rumors from, Mrs. York."

Mrs. York faltered. "...Just a lot of people."

Nathaniel nodded faintly. "Who exactly?"

Mrs. York visibly panicked. This excuse was something she had completely made up on the spot!

"Well... I can’t recall the specific names right now. But a lot of people have said it..."

"You can’t recall?" Nathaniel lifted his eyes. "No matter. You only associate with a select few society ladies. I can ask them one by one if they’ve been gossiping in front of you."

Mrs. York’s expression stiffened. If Nathaniel approached those wealthy families with such a reason, they would hate her to death!

Mrs. York chuckled awkwardly. "Nathaniel, I only heard these things while shopping and at the beauty salon. I’ve forgotten who said them. I’m just too gullible and can’t tell right from wrong, otherwise I wouldn’t have believed them!"

Thea York secretly bit her lip. She wanted to intervene but wasn’t fast enough to beat Nathaniel.

The man’s eyes remained as indifferent as ever. He let out a half-smiling scoff. "Then you must at least remember when you went shopping and had your beauty treatments. Which mall did you go to? Which salon?"

Mrs. York could barely maintain her smile. "Well... it’s been so long..."

"Not that long," Nathaniel interrupted. "It’s only been a little over half a month since Estelle’s identity was made public. Just half a month—you shouldn’t have forgotten so quickly. Besides, there are transaction records for your purchases. If you truly can’t remember, you might want to check your bank statements."

This time, Mrs. York couldn’t keep her smile up any longer. She didn’t have any records! She had just spouted nonsense. Who knew Nathaniel would be so relentless about getting to the bottom of it?

Nathaniel shifted his gaze to Zachery. He leaned down gently. "Christian, tell Daddy, what did they do to you just now?"

Mrs. York hurriedly answered, "We didn’t do anything. We just thought Christian was cute, so we brought him over to play for a bit."

Nathaniel shot her a cold glare. Mrs. York sheepishly shut her mouth. Cold sweat dripped continuously from her forehead as she desperately signaled Thea to think of something.

"They didn’t do anything." Unexpectedly, ’Christian’ seemed very happy. "Aunt York and Grandma York gave me lots of delicious food. Aunt York even made it all by herself!"

Mrs. York’s heart, which had been in her throat, suddenly dropped back into her chest. She let out a massive sigh of relief.

However, ’Christian’s’ next words made her heart leap right back up again!

"I asked Grandma York why she was treating me so well, and Grandma York said..."

Zachery sweetened his voice, making it sound innocent and pure. He widened his big eyes, looking for all the world like a naive child who knew nothing of the complexities of life.

"Grandma York said I wouldn’t have the chance to enjoy this later, because when Aunt York and Daddy get married, they’ll have their own biological son, and I won’t be important anymore~"

Nathaniel’s face instantly darkened.

Mrs. York felt as if she had been struck by a bolt from the blue! She thought, "This little beast! This little beast actually snitched to Nathaniel! What a heartless bastard!"

But before she had time to be furious, Nathaniel’s piercing gaze scared her into stumbling backward.

Nathaniel slowly curled his lips into a dangerous smile. "So, you’ve even planned out everything for after Thea ’marries into the Sloan family,’ Mrs. York."

Mrs. York was terrified. "No, it’s not..."

"Mom!"

Right at that moment, Thea walked up anxiously. In a highly disapproving tone, she said, "Mom, what is there that you can’t say to Nathaniel? Just admit your mistake. Nathaniel wouldn’t make things difficult for you, an elder."

Zachery snorted, thinking, "As if he wouldn’t make things difficult for an el~der~."

At this point, Thea looked at Nathaniel, feigning anger. "Nathaniel, my uncle is the one who said all these things to my mom! His whole family is always lusting after things that don’t belong to them. They kept egging my mom on, telling her to make me break off my engagement and marry you instead. How could that ever be possible!

"But my mom happens to think that since we grew up together, it would be perfect if we got married. But... sigh!"

Reaching this point, Thea gave Mrs. York a subtle cue. "Mom, you need to stay away from Uncle and his family from now on!"

Catching the hint, Mrs. York nodded frantically. "Yes, yes, I know. I never imagined your uncle and aunt would harbor such intentions. Honestly, since when is it their place to dictate my daughter’s marriage?"

Thea turned back around, looking helpless. "Nathaniel, I’m so sorry. My mom and I are willing to apologize to Christian. She is just too gullible and believes whatever people tell her..."

Nathaniel shot her a cold glance. "In that case, you two shouldn’t mind if I do something about it?"

Fighting through the pain, Thea steeled herself. "Of course we don’t mind. My uncle and his family need a good lesson!"

Estelle Lockwood clicked her tongue in amazement. These two women were truly worthy of having climbed the social ladder as the mistress and her illegitimate daughter, even seizing the high ground in public opinion. When it came to selling out their own relatives, they didn’t show the slightest bit of mercy.

She smoothed her hair. "Christian, it looks like Miss York and Mrs. York have no intention of apologizing. We’re leaving."

Despite talking so much, they evaded saying a single "sorry" to the child. Thea knew that apologizing meant admitting she was truly wrong, and how could she ever admit to making a mistake? After all, this mother-and-daughter duo believed that anything they set their sights on rightfully belonged to them.

Zachery also sighed, shaking his head. "Even a kid knows you should apologize to the person you hurt, yet they just keep explaining themselves to Daddy. Sigh~"

Nathaniel watched the retreating figures of the woman and the child, his gaze growing even colder. "Watch yourself, Thea."

After Nathaniel left as well, Thea couldn’t hold back a shriek. SMASH! She threw everything she could grab off the table!

They wanted her to apologize, to admit fault, to bleed internally and confess that she didn’t harbor any inappropriate thoughts about Nathaniel! That little beast had been bossing her around non-stop for the past three hours, and now he had the nerve to play the victim?

Thea was so furious she could die. Who said Christian Sloan was a soft-tempered, autistic kid who could be easily manipulated?!

The more Thea thought about it, the more something felt wrong. She became increasingly convinced that Christian had done it all on purpose. He had intentionally agreed to come to the York family home, intentionally led them on, and intentionally bossed them around to exhaust her—only to force her to swallow her pride and apologize in the end!

Before Thea’s anger could subside, a phone call came in. Her uncle shouted furiously, "Our family business has been completely ruined! I asked our partners, and they said I offended someone I shouldn’t have. You two offended Mr. Sloan, so why did you throw me under the bus?!"

Mrs. York snapped back, "Enough! Once Thea becomes Mrs. Sloan, you’ll have whatever you want!"

The York family’s butler had already left. A young maid who remained in the living room shook her head. This mother and daughter truly did every wicked thing under the sun, acting one way in public and another in private. But she was just a maid. If she ever spoke of this to outsiders, no one would believe her.

Stepping outside the York family home, Mrs. Kendrick, who had been silent for a long time, finally couldn’t help but speak up.

"Christian, why did you agree to come to the York family’s home? Did that mother and daughter force you? Or did Laura Jennings say something to you?" As she spoke, she glared fiercely at Nathaniel.